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ICE issues enforcement guidance to OPLA attorneys implementing EO 13768

  1. Original Date Announced

    August 15, 2017

    ICE issues guidance to OPLA attorneys implementing Executive Order 13768 on interior enforcement. The guidance revises enforcement priorities, directs the Office of Chief Counsel to review all previously administratively closed cases, states that prosecutorial discretion is not to be exercised in favor of leniency (except for members of the military and their family members), and announces a general policy of opposing motions to reopen. [ID #270]

    Go to article on prisonlegalnews.org
  2. Effective Date

    August 15, 2017
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  4. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    January 20, 2021

    Executive Order on the Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities

    This Biden administration policy revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13993 which revoked the Trump administration’s EO 13768.

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  5. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    January 20, 2021

    2021.01.20 Review of and Interim Revision to Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities

    This Biden administration policy revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On January 20, 2021, DHS issued a policy memo rescinding and suspending the Trump-era policy memo. This memo was supplemented a month later by ICE's Interim Guidance on Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Priorities (Feb. 18, 2021), https://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2021/021821_civil-immigration-enforcement_interim-guidance.pdf.

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  6. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    May 27, 2021

    2021.05.27 Interim Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities

    This Biden administration policy furthers the previously mentioned Biden administration action revoking in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On May 27, 2021, ICE issued guidance to OPLA attorneys on enforcement priorities. In contrast to the previous Trump-era guidance, this document emphasizes the use of prosecutorial discretion when appropriate.

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  7. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    September 30, 2021

    2021.09.30 Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law

    This Biden administration policy revokes and modifies the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On September 30, 2021, DHS Secretary Mayorkas issued a memorandum explaining that ICE should use prosecutorial discretion to focus its enforcement on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety, and/or border security, and take an individualized approach in each case. The memo contextualizes this prioritization with analysis of the undocumented population within the U.S., the executive's discretion in this area, and the need to protect against civil rights and civil liberties abuses.

    This guidance went into effect on November 29, 2021.

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  8. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    April 3, 2022

    2022.04.03 Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws and the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion

    This Biden administration policy revokes and modifies the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On April 3, 2022, ICE PLA Kerry Doyle issued Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws and the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion, which incorporates the Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law, rescinds the Interim OPLA Guidance, and updates and expands the exercise of PD by OPLA attorneys.

    This memorandum has an effective date of April 25, 2022 to streamline OPLA’s process for designating enforcement priorities, and provides greater discretion to OPLA attorneys to exercise PD in individual cases.

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  9. Biden Administration Action: Other

    June 23, 2023

    Statement from Secretary Mayorkas Regarding the Supreme Court Decision on Immigration Enforcement

    After the United States v. Texas decision was issued on June 23, 2023, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released a formal statement noting that DHS looked forward to reinstating the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities as set forth in the Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law originally signed by Secretary Mayorkas on September 30, 2021.

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  10. Biden Administration Action: Other

    July 28, 2023

    Reinstatement of the Immigration Enforcement Priorities Post SCOTUS Ruling

    According to an August 15, 2023, stakeholder update from the ICE Office of Partnership and Engagement (OPE), the Department's Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities were reinstituted on July 28, 2023, following the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Texas. The OPE update further states that the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) reinstated Principal Legal Advisor Kerry Doyle’s memorandum from April 2022 which provides OPLA attorneys with guidance for appropriately executing DHS’s enforcement priorities and exercising prosecutorial discretion.

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Current Status

Not in effect

Most Recent Action

July 28, 2023 Action: Other Reinstatement of the Immigration Enforcement Priorities Post SCOTUS Ruling
January 20, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
January 20, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
May 27, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
September 30, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
April 3, 2022
Acted on by Biden Administration
June 23, 2023
Acted on by Biden Administration
July 28, 2023
Acted on by Biden Administration

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Final/Actual
Trump Administration Action: Agency Directive
Subject Matter: Interior
Agencies Affected: ICE

Pre Trump-Era Policies

Commentary

  • Advocating for Prosecutorial Discretion in Removal Proceedings Under the Doyle Memo

    Publication of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG) and Immigrant

    Legal Resource Center on new strategies to advocate for prosecutorial discretion in removal proceedings.

    Go to article
  • Biden administration halts limits on ICE arrests following court ruling

    CBS News publishes a statement from DHS after the Fifth Circuit's initial failure to respond to the administration's emergency stay request: "[DHS] said it 'strongly' disagreed with Tipton's order, but that it was complying with it. 'During the appeals process, ICE agents and officers will make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.'"

    Go to article on cbsnews.com

Documents

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